Jose Mourinho will be on the touchline for Sunday’s Manchester derby – but the Football Association is determined not to let him off the hook over a charge of using foul and abusive language.
The FA have decided to appeal against the findings of an Independent Regulatory Commission that cleared Mourinho of misconduct for comments made after Manchester United’s dramatic win against Newcastle last month.
But that appeal will not be heard until the back end of next week at the earliest, meaning the United manager will be in his technical area for the clash with Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions.
The FA took the extraordinary step to challenge the findings of the commission who determined the original charge unfound.
It is believed to be the highest profile appeal made by English football’s governing body, who confirmed their next step after studying the written decisions of the committee on Wednesday.
Mourinho was caught swearing on television cameras as he left the pitch at the end of United’s 3-2 win against Newcastle.
The 55-year-old did not challenge of a translation, interpretation and lip-reading expert, who claimed he used the phrase ‘sons of a whore.’
But Mourinho, who employed his own expert, claimed his comments were taken out of context.
The commission upheld Mourinho’s own assertion that his words were not directed at any individual and were an act of celebration.
It concluded that it was up to the FA to prove their case and were not satisfied Mourinho’s comments constituted an abusive or insulting or improper act.”
Mourinho himself claimed cultural differences were at the root of the charge.
Declaring himself 100 percent innocent, he said last week: “You know that between Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, we are saying that word five times every 10 seconds and we don’t offend anyone. Anyone.
“It’s the same thing as you English say some similar words, but a bit different. You are not offending. You are just frustration, happiness, here it comes. All the time.”
But the FA are adamant his comments did constitute an act of misconduct, claiming they were directed at his critics following a raft of negative reports, which led to claims he was due to be sacked after the Newcastle game.
